Disable Smilies in This Post. Show Signature: include your profile signature. Only registered users may have signatures.

*If HTML and/or UBB Code are enabled, this means you can use HTML and/or UBB Code in your message.

If you have previously registered, but forgotten your password, click here.

T O P I C R E V I E W

Jacques van Oene

European Space Agency release

Image credit: ESA

The logo for the Alissé mission features the wing of a bird enclosing images of the ISS and Shuttle Discovery, either side of two sets of horizontal lines. The horizontal lines symbolise different aspects of the mission. The two sets of lines represent the two spacewalks to be undertaken by Christer Fuglesang during the mission. The bird's wing adds to this symbolism of the spacewalks as Fuglesang will seem to be flying around the ISS almost like a bird without the constraints of gravity.

The horizontal lines further evoke the wind alizé, through which the Shuttle flies in the logo to reach the ISS. The two sets of lines symbolise the Shuttle and ISS in their separate orbits as they close for docking. The lines also represent the two ESA astronauts on the Station during the mission.

The four individual lines also suggest the four space agencies of the astronauts on the Station during the mission. The bird's wing and the symbols it encompasses also suggest how a bird looks down on Earth, while floating on the alizé wind, similar to how the astronauts will be looking down on Earth from space.

The left-hand part of the ESA logo suggests the Moon as a future step for ESA, with respect to its exploration goals, built on its current and past missions to the ISS. The name of the mission is at the bottom, with the letters 'ISS' highlighted to suggest the mission's target.

KSCartist

Reading the description it amazes me that they could say so much with such a strikingly simple design. Great job!

garymilgrom

I don't understand why astronaut Fuglesang has his a unique name for his part of this flight ("his mission"). Is this common practice? I know some astronauts (Julie Payette on STS-127) have their own patch made, but I've not heard of this naming of a mission within the mission before.

Robert Pearlman

ESA has a tradition of naming its missions, even when it just a single crew member on a larger U.S. or Russian launched expedition. For example:

Jacques, where did this patch coming from? I picked up a decal during Autographica. A better colour match could have been made between decal and patch. Does ESA sell the patches (i.e. through a gift shop) or give them away?

Jacques van Oene

The patch was made for ESA personnel only (as is the case with all ESA patches), they do not have a gift shop and do not sell their patches. That is all I can say...